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Dracula
Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes and Vlad the Impaler, and formely known as Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia and Vlad Dracul, was the first and oldest vampire in the world. Physical description Dracula has a pale, thin face. He also has long grey hair. Dracula considers himself as a civilized man and therefore dresses up in old, formal suits and pants. Personality Dracula is a calm, evil and polite person but his temper can be one hell of a storm. In contrast to this, he uses a rich smooth voice when he is not angered or entertaining "guests." He is capable of inflicting painful tortures on his enemies. He would kill or make them suffer for something they had done. This is usually something minor, like not bowing deep enough. Biography History Department 19= On February 12, 1476 in Teleorman Forest, Romania, Vlad Tepes, the Prince of Wallachia, was turned into a vampire by a monster with demonic powers. Vlad then turned a man named Gregor before he turned Valeri, Alexandru and Valentin Rusmanov ‒ his three Generals. Later on, Vlad gave himself the name "Dracula" and resided in his Transylvanian castle for approximately three centuries. Centuries later Vlad is destroyed, but not killed, by Abraham Van Helsing and his comrades. His ashes were kept in a Russian facility for over a century before they were taken in an attack led by Valeri Rusmanov. Valeri later resurrected Dracula by bathing his ashes in the blood of five captive women. Dracula returned to life in a severely weakened state, barely able to move without injuring himself. Valeri kept him at the Chateau Dauncy in southern France while he recovered, and aided his regeneration by using a human trafficking network to acquire hundreds of people for Dracula to eat. Meanwhile, Dracula used the Chateau as a base to build an army and work against Blacklight, eventually dispatching Valeri to attack the Loop directly. During this attack, Valeri abducted Director Seward and took him to the Chateau. |-| Bram Stoker's "Dracula"= Bram Stoker's novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula's characteristics, powers, abilities and weaknesses are narrated by multiple narrators, from different perspectives. Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, and a Transylvanian nobleman who claims to be a Székely descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European folklore, which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm. In his conversations with Jonathan Harker, he reveals himself as deeply proud of his boyar heritage and nostalgic for the past times, which he admits have become only a memory of heroism, honor and valor in modern times. Details of his early life are obscure, but it seems that Dracula studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic. Taking up arms, as befitting his rank and status as a voivode, he led troops against the Turks across the Danube. According to Van Helsing, "He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the land beyond the forest." Dead and buried in a great tomb in the chapel of his castle, Dracula returns from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with three terrifyingly beautiful female vampires beside him. Whether they be his lovers, sisters, daughters, or vampires made by him is not made clear in the narrative. As the novel begins in the late 19th century, Dracula acts on a long contemplated plan for world domination, and infiltrates London to begin his reign of terror. He summons Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. Dracula at first charms Harker with his cordiality and historical knowledge, and even rescues him from the clutches of the three female vampires in the castle. In truth, however, Dracula wishes to keep Harker alive long enough to complete the legal transaction and to learn as much as possible about England. Dracula leaves his castle and boards a Russian ship, the Demeter, taking along with him boxes of Transylvanian soil, which he needs in order to regain his strength. During the voyage to Whitby, a coastal town in northern England, he sustains himself on the ship's crew members. Only one body is later found, that of the captain, who is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. Dracula leaves the ship in the form of a dog. Soon the Count is menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum overseen by John Seward compelled to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula begins to visit Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her three suitors call upon John Seward's mentor, the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, but does not speak out. Despite an attempt at keeping the vampire at bay with garlic, Dracula attacks Lucy's house one final time, leaving her mother dead and transforming Lucy herself into one of the undead. After Lucy attacks several children, Van Helsing and Lucy's former suitors John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris enter her crypt and kill her to save her soul. Later, Harker joins them and they enter Dracula's residences at Carfax and Piccadilly, destroying his boxes of earth, depriving the Count of his ability to rest. Dracula leaves England to return to his homeland, but not before biting Mina, largely out of spite for the heroes' actions against him, knowing that as long as he's alive Mina is in danger of becoming a vampire herself. This backfires when Van Helsing hypnotizes Mina and uses her supernatural link with Dracula to track him. The final section of the novel details the heroes racing Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's gypsy bodyguards, finally destroying him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart to kill him, Mina's narrative describes his throat being cut through by Jonathan Harker's kukri and his heart pierced by Morris' Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina Harker sees an expression of peace on Dracula's face. Appearances *''Department 19'' *''Department 19: The Rising'' *''Department 19: Battle Lines'' *''Department 19: Zero Hour'' *''Department 19: Darkest Night'' References Navigation Category:Male characters Category:Vampires Category:Department 19 characters Category:The Rising characters Category:Battle Lines characters Category:Zero Hour characters Category:Darkest Night characters